Microsoft Surface S: the road to a 500€ iPad and Chromebook killer

It very much appears as an attack on the fast growing rise of Google Chromebooks in education, but the announcement of the Surface S can be the road to an affordable tablet/laptop combination. Microsoft will offer its reduced S10 operating system to computer builders for less than 200€, inclusive of Office 365. So it cannot be long before the iPads and Chromebooks will get some real competition. Strong points will be the long battery use, like with the iPad, and many additional options via the standard ports. Weak point is the fact that not many apps will be available yet. This will also determine the future of Windows S10 because, as shown by Apple and Google, popular and good apps determine the future of an operating system. Price and design are important, but ease of use rules. And Android and iOS definitely score on that point.
We can look forward to a battle this autumn between the big three. Which of course will be influenced by what Apple will present as the future of smartphones, tablets and laptops in their traditional end-of-year announcements. In the end the user will be the winner with a choice of computer devices to go with lifestyle, budget and image.